Jaane Tu ya Jaane Na

Friends, it's time to stand and applaud Abbas Tyrewala for his directorial debut, Jaane Tu ya Jaane Na. He has done it with absolute newcomers and managed to get the crowds in for 'repeat' views. A big praise to Aamir Khan for backing a venture that had no takers in the 'corporate' world of film financiers. Just goes to show that corporate India has no sense of cinema.

So what clicked in the film? I think what really mattered was an easy style of story-telling and engaging performances by Imraan Khan (Aamir's nephew), Genelia D'Souza and a host of young actors, including Prateek Babbar (son of late Smita Patil and Raj Babbar).

I felt good watching a young hero without any pretences of a he-man, minus the show of brawn. He is as ordinary and chilled-out as many of his generation are. When did we last see a hero who has not been beefed up to 'show-off' on the screen? Can't remember at all.

There is a lot of freshness in the way the story, though predictable at times, unfolds. The icing on the cake are cameos by Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Paresh Rawal, Sohail and Arbaaz Khan. My favourite music director AR Rahman goes one better with a youthful score that will, I am sure, scorch the charts for a long time. ARR, you please make sure that you give one album for the young generation every year--and you might end up becoming a youth icon for a number of years to come.

With this film, Aamir Khan seals his stamp as a serious producer of quality cinema in Bollywood. Aamir along with Vishal Bharadwaj seem to be people who are beautifully dovetailing art and commerce in Indian cinema. They are showing the way to making films that can surprise, entertain and leave the audience with a 'wow' effect.